Caroline Bliss (born 12 July 1961) is an English actress who trained at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. I ...

. She is best known for her appearance as M's secretary,

Miss Moneypenny Miss Moneypenny, later assigned the first names of Eve or Jane, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M (James Bond), M, who is Bond's superior officer and head of the British Secret Intelligence Serv ...

, in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

films of the

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama ''The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence as ...

era.

Early life

She attended

Godolphin and Latymer School The Godolphin and Latymer School is an independent day school for girls in Hammersmith, West London. The school motto is an ancient Cornish phrase, ''Francha Leale Toge'', which translates as "free and loyal art thou". The school crest inclu ...

, in the year above her Miss Moneypenny successor,

Samantha Bond Samantha Jane Bond (born 27 November 1961) is an English actress, who is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on ''Downton Abbey'' as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund ...

Miss Moneypenny

At the age of 25, Bliss replaced the long-standing

Lois Maxwell Lois Ruth Maxwell (born Lois Ruth Hooker; 14 February 1927 – 29 September 2007) was a Canadian actress who portrayed Miss Moneypenny in the first fourteen Eon-produced ''James Bond'' films (1962–1985). She was the first actress to play the ...

in the films ''

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...

'' and ''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond. It sees Bond suspended from MI6 as he pursues t ...

''.

Personal life

Bliss is the granddaughter of composer Sir

Arthur Bliss Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (2 August 189127 March 1975) was an English composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he qu ...

, former

Master of the Queen's Music Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orche ...

. She is married to author and actor

Andy Secombe Andrew James Secombe (born 26 April 1953), is a Welsh actor and author. Early life, family and education Born in Mumbles, in south Wales, Secombe is son of comedian/singer Harry Secombe (whom he later impersonated in a ''Goon Show'' special). ...

and the couple live in Goonbell with their two children.

Filmography

Her film and television work includes appearances in: * '' Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story'' (1982) (TV) ....

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

* ''

Killer Contract ''Killer'' is a British television series which was originally broadcast on ITV in 1984. It consisted of three stand-alone episodes, produced by Yorkshire Television. Episodes * ''Killer Waiting'' (17 February 1984) featuring John Thaw and Dian ...

'' (1984) .... (TV) Celia Routledge * ''

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

'' (1984) (TV) .... Rosa Kossack * ''

My Brother Jonathan ''My Brother Jonathan'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Harold French and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Ronald Howard and Beatrice Campbell. It is adapted from the 1930 novel ''My Brother Jonathan'' by Francis Brett Young, lat ...

'' (1985) (TV) .... Edie Martyn * ''

'' (1987) ....

* ''The Moneymen'' (1987) (TV) .... Sarah * ''

'' (1989) ....

* '' Braxton'' (1989) .... Vanessa Rawlings * ''

The Paradise Club ''The Paradise Club'' is a BBC television crime drama series, broadcast between 19 September 1989 and 27 November 1990. The series starred Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank and Danny Kane, siblings who inherit a nightclub from their mo ...

'' (1990) (TV) .... DI Sarah Turnbull * ''

Insektors ''Insektors'' (stylized as ''InseKtorS'') was a 1994 French computer-animated TV series, and was one of the earliest computer animated series, predating ''VeggieTales'' and ''ReBoot''. Made in a small studio, Fantome in France, it was the 1994 ...

'' (1994) (TV) * '' Ruth Rendell - A Case of Coincidence'' (1996) (TV) .... Sarah Quin * '' Blitzlicht'' (aka ''Inside Out'' in the U.S.) (1996)

Theatre

Her theatre work includes: *''Blood Brothers'' *''Blue Remembered Hills'' *''Eve'' *''Fuente Ovejuna'' *''Good'' *''Particular Friendships'' *''Romeo and Juliet'' *''Rough Justice'' *''The Invisible Man'' *''The Night They Raided Minsky's''

References

External links

* *
An actor's search for the simple life
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Caroline 1961 births Living people English film actresses English stage actresses 20th-century English actresses Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School People educated at Godolphin and Latymer School